I continued to feed Mr. Mean, but was very careful not to touch him. Then one day, he head-bumped my hand when I was putting out the food. I carefully petted his head ... and he loved it! It was then that I realized that he was not feral at all. He loved being petted, but soon it became a problem, cause he wanted to come into the house! And he still wanted to eat all my cats.
After Bubbles passed away, I spent a bit more time with him and decided to open the window to my office (it opens on the porch) to see whether he would like to come inside. He promptly jumped in and showed no sign that he ever planned to leave again! All the stray cats I've taken in before, wanted to still go outside all the time. Not so Mr. Mean. I got him a large doggy pillow and he seemed perfectly content to lounge on it for the majority of the time
Because of his love for this pillow I started calling him Milkbone.
A couple of weeks ago I put a kitty door in the window so he can go out when he likes. He seems pretty content to be inside, but since I cannot let him come into the rest of the house, he gets a bit lonely in the office. Eventually I got a pet gate to separate the office, the guest bedroom and bathroom from the rest of the house. This allows him more space when I don't have guests and he can also see what it going on in the downstairs part of the house.
He looks kinda sad behind the gate, but unfortunately he still sees my cats as potential snacks, particularly Squish. He really looks at her as if he wants to hunt her and she is terrified of him. I suspect the absence of a tail and her funny bunny-hop way of trotting around the house is the reason for his interest. Does this behind look tasty?
I've never had to deal with cats in my household that don't get along. Everybody seem relatively content, although Milkbone is a big cuddler and wants to spend more time with me. Don't feel too sorry for him, he does get to sit on the couch with me when I watch TV. He has to wear a harness, so I can keep him close, but he seems to be OK with it.
He is a very good cat. He learned very quickly what he is allowed to do (brow, brow for play) and what not (jumping over the barrier). I'm not sure how all of this will work out in the long term, but for now everybody seem relatively happy. It makes me sad to think that such a nice cat, who obviously had a home at some stage, had to live outside all this time.
I will probably never be able to let him loose in the same part of the house as my other cats, but hopefully he will stay content with his part of the house and his time with me on the harness. So it seems I've created a bit of a headache for myself, but hopefully it will all work out.
9 comments:
Milkbone is a cutie! I love how comfy he made himself. I have never seen squish's tailessness before, and I have to admit, she looks delish! Ever since Alex had his tail amputated, I melt when I see a tailess cat. She looks just like my neice, "ruby" who also lost her tail....
Milkbone is a handsome fellow! And obviously has made himself quite at home! We hope that one day you'll have peaceful co-existence with everyone. We know it's not always possible, but we still can hope for it!
He's a very handsome boy! Hopefully someday he'll find a way to live peacefully with your other cats. Bringing in a new cat is always hard, but bringing in one that wants to make dinner of your other cats is a sign of a true cat lover.
What a sweet story. It's tough though, when animals don't get along. Sounds like you've found a workable solution for the time being.
I just happened onto your blog and it sounds like my house. I have a semi feral female who hates & is hated by another female. They cannot be together, after more than a year, probably never will. I just finished blogging about it - the stories of Mica Minnie Moo & Julie. Maybe you'd be interested. I hope you visit. I'll visit again when its not so late. Good luck! Its a lot of work!!
I have to keep Missy Blue Eyes away from the other cats. They attack her. She had been declawed when I inherited her, so she can't defend herself.
I keep her isolated in my bedroom; I allow maybe one or two of the cats in with us. They get along in that smaller environment. No fighting.
But let them all have the run of the house, and they are chomping and clawing at Missy.
It's kind of a headache, but I don't want to get rid of any of them.
What a handsome dude Milkbone is! Thank you for giving him the chance (well, several chances, MOL!) to show you what a good boy he is. We bet he's WAY happier in the one room than having to fend for himself in the scary outside world.
Happy Mo Cats Day, friends. :)
Oh we're so happy you took Milkbone inside! He looks really happy!
Our mom has to keep Zoey separated from Wally because she wants to kill him, so she spends most of her time in a bedroom. Mom had a door made that has a screen window in the bottom so Zoey can see out. And every day, Zoey gets to go in the rest of the house for a few hours and Wally stays in another room. At first she thought keeping Zoey isolated like that maybe wasn't good, but Zoey has adapted to it and seems content with the situation. I get to go in her room and visit her sometimes.
Ernie
Aww - how nice that Milkbone has you to love! We totally know about the Mr. Mean side of his personality though. Except for Midnight, Grr has had it in her head that all other female cats are for eating. The "temporary guests" we've had (3 of them, I think) have all been girls and it was NOT a good thing. Grr still hunts Riley, if they're left unsupervised. When Riley was little, Grr had to wear bells on her collar to warn Riley of the potential danger. Now that Grr has her own room and rarely comes out, all is well.
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